English Summar y
Number 07 /116/ July 2019
TOP FLIGHT
La Garrotxa
VOLCANOES AND FORESTS
T
There is the unique La Gar-
rotxa Volcanic Zone Natu-
ral Park to the north-west of
the Costa Brava coast. Found-
ed in 1982 and being the only
one on the Iberian Peninsu-
la, it covers an area of more
than 12,000 hectares and
consists of four dozen dor-
mant volcanoes aged between
350,000 and 11,000 years. The
last time the Croscat volca-
no erupted 11,500 years ago
at this place, still the echoes
of the volcanic activity hap-
pened much later too — the
last earthquake with human
losses occurred in 1428, and
it even reached Barcelona. In
1901 and 1902, the force of na-
ture was felt again but caused
only minor destruction.
Nowadays, once lour gi-
ants have been overgrown
with grass and trees (not ev-
erywhere you can see their
former craters) but left a spe-
cial climate behind, a unique
flora, hilly relief with natural
panoramic sites and volca-
nic rocks facing the surface —
ash, gravel, and basalt. A de-
veloped network of various
walking routes has been de-
signed in the park, which can
be walked or ridden by a bike,
segway or donkey. It is espe-
cially nice here at the end of
spring when the hills are cov-
ered with a carpet of scar-
let poppies.
The territory of the na-
tional park is 90 percent pri-
vate but protected by the
state; moreover, La Garrotxa
is not only hills and extinct
volcanoes but also a few nice
small towns which reflect a
variety of epochs and styles
— the Middle Ages and Jew-
ish heritage, Renaissance, Art
Nouveau and modern aes-
thetics. Monestir de Sant
Joan les Fonts is a Benedic-